Sara L'étrange – Local Artisan at BWSS My Sister’s Closet

Sara L’étrange is a local self taught artist who began using art therapeutically roughly seven years back. Her work quickly evolved from pale sketches in coloured pencil into stronger brighter works investigating surreal fantasy gardens of wisdom, vision, and truth expressed through the symbol of the eye which continues to feature heavily in her ongoing works. She has moved into the many possibilities of gel ink, from sparkle and shine to matte and texture, playing freely.

The presented images move through years of her life like a visual diary expressing her knowledge, exit, and new beginnings after her own experiences in a difficult marriage. Each piece of work represents at least 15-20 hours of labour, sometimes carried out over an intense week of work, other times they develop over several months.

Turning the Wheel

Sara also tends to explore multiple ideas over long periods, having 5 or 6 pieces, each with its own focus allows her to move from work to work as it suits her mood. She also creates DIY (Do it yourself) dolls, such as the popular Munny toys, painting them primarily with cosmetics and creating character features from used costume jewellery and found items.

Vision Tree

As an Outsider Artist she enjoys the healing freedom of the journey, where she is liberated from the demands of others, from restrictive expectations like those she was once bound by and able for whatever time she is able to give her art (between a busy life and parental responsibilities) to place her focus on self discovery and ultimately a new found sense of self esteem.

Leaving

To see more works by Sara L’étrange you can find her arts page on Facebook .

Community-based women’s organizations often the first response for women living with violence. At BWSS we provide a matrix of support & advocacy services. Today, we look forward to seeing in which way the province of BC prioritizes women’s equity #bcbudget#bcpoli#BudgetDay